IMG_0401Today B.C. Redi-Rooter Ltd. was called out for a seemingly uneventful low water pressure in kitchen faucet and one bathroom tap call. This was the call that saved a family’s home, health and possibly lives.
Upon arriving at the home and questioning the homeowner about the pressure problem, I headed for the kitchen ready to check the aerator. After removal of the aerator, it was clear that the pressure problem at the kitchen faucet was here. A thorough inspection indicated copper material from the old copper pipes was embedded in the screen, a good indicator that the copper piping is at the end of its life span. Also in the aerator was some rust.
I have had many calls like this one, mostly after some-one has been frustrated with the previous results from a different plumbing company that just changed the aerators and left. If the plumber left without a thorough troubleshooting inspection of the problem, it will likely resurface at a later time.
I asked the home owner to show me where the hot water tank was and from a distance I could see the tank bulging at the seams. The tanks was wet and rusted around the hot and cold nipples and the whole surface of the tank was hot to the touch from the saturation of the insulation.
For immediate safety reasons I turned down the tank temperature. I tested the Temperature and Pressure Valve and it was stuck shut from the accumulation of so much rusty material. After making this scenario safe, I called the homeowner to show and explain the situation. The homeowner was shocked because he never imagined that there was a problem with the tank.
It was and still is amazingly lucky that this tank did not rupture or explode, sending the thick rusty water all over the off-white carpeting or worse seriously burning some-one. The tank had to be replaced.
I love my profession, and it is days like this one that make me feel like the super hero of plumbing, from a simple phone call for no water pressure to saving a home from a sure flood and a family from possibly getting sick from the cooled combustion air spilling into the home.
Check out my videos of this tank. (coming soon)
